Create a safe space where every student feels valued and seen/heard

• What does conditional positive regard look like in practice?? 

Conditional Positive Regard looks like getting to know each student and figuring out what makes them tick. Learn about what they like and connect with them by asking about their interests and desires. Keep working toward connection and find ways to build trust with each student. Show them that you care and that they are valued. Celebrate each and every student to show them that we can all win. We can all succeed. Plant seeds for positive change. If they have "behavior problems", find out what causes them. What is happening at home? Is something happening at school that's causing trauma? Every student is worthy of care. Every student can learn.

• Consider a time when you went out of your way to connect with a student.  What did you have to do?  What were the outcomes?

I had a student, while I was student teaching, who missed 2-3 days of school every week and when she was in school she couldn't sit still. She wanted to walk around the classroom, chat with that adults in the room (classroom teacher, myself and the ENL teacher) and show us pictures of her baby brother. We found out that her father is out of the picture, her mom and stepfather didn't give her the attention she needed and craved. She worked after school every day and then had to take care of her baby (infant) brother on the weekends. I told her that if she sat through the class, I would give her the last 5 minutes or so to talk about her brother and get the attention from adults that she needed/craved. She started getting more classwork done and participated in group work/labs. Her grade improved and she qualified for credit recovery.